On 2/24, Clay brought Karen and I out to visit Hakone Gardens, which have recently gained renewed popularity for having been the location for many of the scenes in a very pretty film that is purportedly about The Floating World. The damage that had been wrought making the film was in process of being repaired, as evidenced by the heavy machinery and work crew that were busy just inside the gardens' entrance. Needless to say, the Zen Garden was closed.

Leaving all that aside, the gardens are beautiful and warrant a visit on their own merits. We ended up wandering around in the Tea Garden and Bamboo Forest, and spent way too much time staring at koi and chasing turtles at the pond. (As you may have guessed, we are easily distracted by shiny things.)

NOTE: Click on pics for larger versions. If you're feeling particularly ambitious, Clay has many more pics here.

Don't take that the wrong way. Between the compensation they received for the use of the grounds and the additional interest generated, I'm guessing that the whole exercise was incredibly beneficial to them.